


I knew you were trouble when you walked in

by RegallyWickedThirteen



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 01:23:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20350039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegallyWickedThirteen/pseuds/RegallyWickedThirteen
Summary: Serquel own my heart and the s3 finale broke it so this is my tribute to them.I suck at summaries okay?!





	I knew you were trouble when you walked in

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Nati, who has helped motivate me to actually finish this, and helped me find some of the scenes.   
To the rest of the la casa de pain group chat I love you all!
> 
> There are bound to be mistakes, because I was itching to post this so please forgive them.

Looking back she should have realised sooner. He was always there. At the end of the phone (both as salva and the professor), at the Hanoi, her shoulder to cry on. He knew too much. He showed too much interest. Part of her knew that this adorable, charming, nervous gentleman, was more than he seemed. Her mother was right though she had needed to let go. To just feel. To be raquel and not Inspector Murillo in charge of the biggest hostage negotiation the world had ever seen.

So that's what she did. She didn't think. Not when she was with Salva,she followed her heart. It was so easy with him. He made her feel special. Even when every muscle aches, her eyes drooping with tiredness, he made her feel alive. He believed in her. 

//

He had gone to the Hanoi for 2 reasons: the first because there is no better place to gather public reactions like a bar. People after a drink or two can discuss the most intimate or diversive topics without the inhibitions they have elsewhere. The other was that he had a sneaking suspicion that the inspector would be there and she'd intrigued him. She was smart, determined and tough. She was going to make this heist a lot more difficult than it already was. 

Salva was a planner. He had to be. Too much of his childhood was unplanned chaos that now he planned every single detail. Life rarely goes the way things are planned. 

What salva had absolutely not accounted for was falling for the Inspector the moment he saw her. 

He was, behind it all, a romantic. He believed people were good at heart. He also believed that in a heist was the single most dangerous thing. When people are in love they become irrational, they think with their heart and not their head. That's when the plan goes wrong. 

So when he first saw her he knew he had to be careful. He knew he was in danger of breaking his own rule. Raquel was gorgeous, her eyes sparkled with a determination so rarely seen, her hair flowed. He just needed them to trust each other. That was it. Nothing more. Nothing less. He kept repeating that to himself knowing it was pointless. 

//

He had to know what information she had and he had to stop feeling so guilty about that fact. 

He was the professor, the orchestrator of the biggest heist in history. His role was to protect his family, not care about the feelings of a woman he had only just met, who happened to be lead inspector and negotiator on the case. 

She was stressed. The professor was anticipating her every move. Identifying another hostage could be their chance to make their move. To move forward on the chess board.

Why was this guy, Salva, so persistent, so interested. Sure everyone wanted information, wanted to know what was happening but Salva wanted specifics, annoyed she hadn't considered the possibility before she went to restrain him, pushing his head against the counter. He seemed shocked and clueless. Realising she had made a mistake and that he wasn't a reporter she quickly gathered her possessions and left the diner, embarrassed. 

She spent more time than she would ever admit thinking, overthinking about how the whole thing had played out. She had to have her suspicions in this job, but rarely had she acted with no proof. Tomorrow she would apologise.

Fuck. Things kept going from bad to worse. He'd taken Paula. The fucking bastard. He knew she would be tied up in the case, knew her mother got confused sometimes and took advantage of it. Twat. 

She hurried home and her anger disappeared slightly when she realised Paula was home and she was OK. She didn't think he would actually hurt her and risk losing his daughter permanently but she never expected it either. 

She couldn't put it off any longer. She needed to give him his phone back. 

He was there waiting for her, looking as awkward and as handsome as ever. 

She handed the phone over sheepishly and apologised for being such a mess. 

He brushed it off, assuring her it was fine-he hadn't even had a text and asked how she was. 

She couldn't believe it. 

"I stole your phone and almost arrested you and you're asking me how I am" 

He smiled and God he should not look that good "I think you took my phone by accident and you were very stressed plus can I say it was quite fun. Where is the recorder. Where is the recorder. Antonio was terrified so all my drinks after that were free. So we're even" 

She didn't deserve his kindness, if the roles were reversed she wouldn't have been so forgiving. "I'm fine everything fine" 

"Good I'm glad" he began

She couldn't lie to him. He deserved better than that. For some reason he cared about her and that deserved better than lies. She spilled the whole sorry tale and instead of pity (she hated pity) she saw compassion, an anger, a desire to listen. 

He came here to play a role, but the professor wasn't an actor. This woman deserved more than the life she lead and he believed he could give it to her. He had never wanted to be Salvador more in his life.

If there is anything I can do to help...hire a bodyguard with sunglasses. I'm sorry I shouldn't be making jokes it's just

Why was he still talking. 

"it's just I don't seem like the typical abused woman" there was an edge to her voice but she wasn't annoyed 

"it doesn't start with violence, if it did no one would be in that kind of relationship" 

"it starts with falling in love with someone who is intelligent, who makes you feel like their epicentre. It starts with an updated profile picture and a comment on wearing a mini skirt to work. Then it escalates, but all the while you think he does this, he says this because he loves me, then they hit you. My job is to protect people but I can't even protect myself"

He hates himself because he knows there is nothing he can do. He hates himself because he is falling in love with this woman but he can't let it go further because he won't be the person that hurts again. 

"you didn't report him?" 

She shakes her head and she seems almost ashamed "He is in the police and well liked among colleagues. I'm a woman in a man's world. I just wanted it over. Then he fell in love with my sister and that's when it all went to hell. I couldn't face the thought of my sister going through the same thing. So I reported him, late and with no proof"

"Raquel please forgive me but there must be something you can do. Something I can do" 

She reached over and placed her hand on top of him and smiled. He'd already helped more than he would ever know just by listening and believing in her. 

The moment was broken when Angel came running in. The doors of the mint had opened. Just for a second. 

Raquel left in a rush, closely followed by a frustrated professor. This was why he had told everyone not to have personal relationships. To not develop romantic feelings for anyone. 

///

The dynamic between them was different on the phone. More serious, yet more playful. The vulnerability was gone. Instead their was a steely determination. A confidence. A game. A serious game with life threatening consequences if one of them made a bad move but a game nonetheless. 

///

Raquel was annoyed. Everything seemed to be happening. The hostages seemed to be showing weakness yet they were still so far behind. Still losing. When they emerged on the roof it was a chance she had to make. A decision anyone would have made. That didn't matter when it was her who had ordered that they open fire. The command that had left the director of the Royal mint with a bullet in his shoulder. 

It was too much. She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. She needed to get out of there. 

///

There is nothing like the comfort of your own bed and Raquel had never believed that to be more true than when she collapsed that night. 

Just as she was closing her eyes her phone rang:Angel. Had there been a break in the case. Groaning slightly she picked up the phone.

///

The professor did not consider himself the type of person that got jealous. 

He also knew that if you plant a microphone on someone the chances are you will be privy to a private conversation or two and Raquel and Angel were colleagues and friends. There was nothing out of the ordinary of a phone call. Except it was clear Angel was drunk. Drunk and bitter. 

Leave her alone she's tired. He muttered to himself. 

Would you sleep with him. 

Somehow he hadn't been expecting that. He was also not sure he wanted to hear the answer. 

Yes why the hell not. I'm a 54 year old woman. Getting laid might give me something else to think about. It's not what she wanted to say. She wanted to say, yes yes she would sleep with him because salva made her feel alive, made her feel like she was special but that would only anger Angel more. 

It came up occasionally, their previous fling, it had always meant more to Angel than Raquel but it had been good. Angel loved her and cherished her. He just didn't know how to let go. 

// 

Morning came and both Raquel and the professor woke with a smile on their face. 

It was short-lived, for the professor at least, the car had not been destroyed, which meant he had exactly an hour before the police got to it. Maybe less. 

He was going to die. Alone. 

At that moment his phone rang, Raquel. If he had been thinking he would have let it ring out. The phone would place him, well Salva, at the scrapyard. But he wasn't thinking. Or rather he was thinking about the conversation with raquel and Angel last night. 

She was asking him on a date in a roundabout way, being adorable and awkward and the most flustered he'd heard her. He knew it was a risk. He knew that if by some miracle he escaped this car and then the scrapyard alive and without being caught, that going on a date was a risk. But it was a risk he couldn't imagine not taking.

///

She was not the type of girl, woman, to stress about what she was wearing, or turn up to a date 36 minutes early, but here she was, sat alone at the bar in the Hanoi, convinced Salva wasn’t going to show. 

The truth was that she didn’t know if she wanted to him to show. That’s a lie, she wanted Salva to show, that’s why she was contemplating ringing him, she just didn’t want to confront him. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he turned out to be some drug dealer. She also needed to know, because she was starting to picture a life with Salva and if that wasn’t going to happen she needed to know now. 

She rang him, and her nerves disappeared, the way they always did when they spoke, He didn’t call her out on how desperate she knew she sounded, and instead promised to be there in five minutes. 

The professor was nervous. Turning around he surveyed the hideout, happy with how it looked he made his way to the bar. 

The moment he saw her, he was speechless, she was breathtaking. It was awkward, and too formal, perhaps because this was a date and the heist, work and family were off limits, or perhaps just because they were taking each other in, committing this moment to memory. 

The professor didn’t really drink, another demon for his past, but the cocktail was going down too nicely and if he wasn’t careful he would start singing, a fact which Raquel seemed to find endearing. She still seemed nervous so the professor made a suggestion- why don’t we stop being so formal. 

Raquel smirked, leant across the table and whispered, Salva look under the table. 

His mind short circuited, he wasn’t expecting to reenact basic instinct, when he peeked under the table he was disappointed and if he was honest a little scared. 

He had half expected this, Raquel doubting him, she was right to after all, but he couldn’t help but feel hurt by it. He just hoped she would believe his performance. 

She did, and he let out a sigh of relief until he saw her face. She looked crestfallen. 

She felt so stupid. Again. She knew Angel had pined after her for the past 8 years but she didn’t think he would do something like this. She just really hoped Salva was a better person than she was. 

“I’m so sorry Salva, this place is lovely. I’m so embarrassed.” She shook her head, how, why had she been so stupid, “Truth was I wanted to show you something else, like that scene from basic instinct”

They both laughed and maybe the moment wasn’t gone. Maybe the date was salvageable. 

She’d almost called her ex. She had never been more glad she hadn’t. 

She wanted to kiss him. She was going to kiss him. 

He wanted to kiss her, knew if he did that rule one would be well and truly thrown out the window, but god he wanted to kiss her. 

She felt like a teenager, giggly and nervous, but honestly she wasn’t sure she had ever felt like this, she leant in slowly and their lips met. It was soft and light at first, both of them taking a moment, not wanting to push, there was no going back, she wanted this, she wanted him, but she felt the need to apologise again. 

Salva loved listening to Raquel but at the moment he just wanted her to be quiet, for them to be together. 

“I think it's time we start being less formal”

“Less formal and more colloquial” 

God he was such a nerd and it was definitely the most polite thing someone had said to her before unclasping her bra, their movements becoming one. 

He loved her. 

She loved him. 

It was too much too soon, but it was a truth they both knew. Neither of them would say it. Not yet. 

The trouble with living in the moment, with reaching the peak, is that you have to fall. The moment has to end. He couldn’t and wasn’t the type of man that would ever begrudge her spending time with her family, but he also knew that the heist was nearing the final stages. Soon their fairytale would end. 

Before that he could play her a tune on the piano. 

She wished she could stay. 

///

The plan was fucked. He was fucked. He knew they would search the house at Toledo. Had planned on it, but being here, waiting, not knowing what was going on was awful.

They should be getting somewhere, they weren’t. It was all other trap. 

Raquel was not a quitter, but this case was taking its toll, maybe it was time to leave, to take a break. 

Maybe he was a fool, trying to convince Raquel to stay on the case, as the professor he knew this would be a lot easier without her leading it. As Salva it would make things simpler too, maybe when the truth came out it would save her reputation at least. He also knew how much this case, this job meant to Raquel, so instead he reassured her. She was on this job for a reason, and that reason was that she was the best person to solve this case. 

///

How could he have been so stupid, beating him up like that, he was not usually one for being jealous, for being violent, but he needed Alberto off the case. 

He felt terrible for faking the bruises, but he also knew that while these were fake Alberto had got away with a lot more and threatened Raquel’s reputation in the process. 

She was fucking pissed, what was it with her ex’s in her life being jealous bastards. She wished she was shocked by the bruises, but she wasn’t. 

////

He wasn’t good with children. Children were unpredictable. Brutally honest and better than any lie detector. They also believed that aliens were real and that fairy tales really happened. 

He also knew that Paula was the single most important thing in Raquel’s life and what he was doing was putting her in danger, and that was unforgivable, but he loved Raquel and the thought of breaking her heart was incomprehensible, he knew it was only a matter of time, the truth rarely stays hidden for long, but for tonight, tonight he wanted to be her boyfriend. 

“Did you really hit him?” she asked

“Well yes I did. I…”

It was sweet how much he valued her, how much he knew she wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress, but she had to stop him, recognised the cycle of self doubt and deprivation all too well, 

“Salva, I’m glad that you gave my jerk of an ex husband a beating” 

///

She can’t remember the last time she did this. Made out with a guy in her childhood bedroom. 

He kissed her like it was the last night of the world. He committed every freckle, every hair, everything to memory, it was slow and sensual, it was perfect. 

The best night of his life. 

He didn’t need to win her over, he’d done that the first time he met her, but what shocked Raquel the most is the sincerity in his words. It was not a corny line, it was the truth. 

He had never anticipated this. He had never thought he would fall this hard. He loved her. He loved her and all he’d done was lie and deceive her. The only person he had ever loved was going to hate him. 

Last night, last night had to be the last time they spent together. 

Follow your own dreams. If only. 

But what if it was possible. 

Let’s leave. 

She wanted to, wanted nothing more than to wake up on a beach with him by her side. Life didn’t work out like that. She had a job, a family. She couldn’t just leave. 

It was crazy. They’d known each other for days, she also couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She was done being careful. She was done living the life of an inspector who got no respect. She wanted to be spontaneous. She wanted to be with him. 

///

After the day she’d had so far she was looking forward to chatting with Salva, forgetting about the outside world for a while so when Antonio bought her an envelope she felt her heart race. What was it? Who had dropped it off? 

Opening it to find 4 postcards, each of a different tropical island made her heart sore. She wished more than anything that they could just run away, maybe when all this was over they could. 

She didn’t notice him at first, but when she did, she smiled, only he could make this day slightly less crappy. 

She wasn’t usually one for pda but right now she didn’t care. She needed to feel his lips on hers. To just escape for a minute. 

Looking back it was all too perfect. 

Palawan, literally picture perfect beach, he knew everything about it, almost as if he had planned to pick that one. 

That’s when she saw it. 

One single fibre

A fake hair from a clown’s wig. 

He was the professor. She had fallen in love with The Professor. He had lied to her all this time. 

She had been wrong before. Accused him of being a reporter and a drug producer. She could be wrong again. She wasn’t but she could be. 

Something had changed, had he said something. He looked up and that’s when he realised. Raquel knew, knew he was the Professor. He could run. He should run. He didn’t. He owed her this much. 

She was going to be sick. He couldn’t be. Salva couldn’t be the Professor, but then who else could be. 

She rang anyone she knew involved in the case, exhausting every option, knowing the evidence was indisputable. It was him, it had always been him. 

She’d let him in. Mind. Body and Soul. 

The smile was fake, flirting a distraction he was helpless to resist, even if he had a choice. 

He was scared. He was a coward. Maybe that’s why he carried on the charade for as long as possible. 

He’d played her like a fiddle, comforted her, convinced her to stay on the case, been the best thing in her fucking life and what it was all a game. 

The game had changed and this time she was going to win. 

If she was being sensible or thinking rationally she would have thrown his ass in jail. She wasn’t though. She was angry and betrayed and in love with him. 

She’d brought him here in the hopes he would speak, that’s what guilty people usually did. He remained silent. 

Every action has a consequence. A lie will always be uncovered. The truth always hurts.   
He didn’t expect it to hurt this much. He should have walked away. Remained as the Professor and the Inspector, that’s what the plan was. 

“What do you want me to say Raquel”

She wanted him to tell her the truth. She wanted to wake up from this fucking horrible nightmare and realise she was on the beach in Palawan in Salva’s arms. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Sergio” 

So he’d lied about that, it made sense to, a name can be traced, but still it was another thing she had believed. 

“Is that really what you want to kill and burn me” 

Yes yes she did. She wanted to torture him to an inch of his life and then shoot him. The way the fucking lying asshole deserved. She wanted to watch his body burn and just walk away. She wanted to reach forward and kiss him, to find the comfort he’d offered the past few days. 

“You knew how vulnerable I was, it wouldn’t be that far fetched would it” 

It wouldn’t and if she wanted to kill him, he would accept that fate. He deserved it. 

“Why couldn’t you just walk away, instead of talking to me, planting a bug on me”

That was the million dollar question and the answer was simple. He loved her. 

She hated how her voice was breaking, but yesterday was so good. 

“We talked about the future” 

They had, and yesterday the impossible dream, and seemed like it could be a reality. Today was a nightmare. 

“It had all been planned out. Except one detail. One variable I never considered. I broke my own rules and I fell in love with you, I’m so sorry. So So sorry. 

“Shut up you lying son of a bitch you actually expect me to believe that”

He didn’t, not at all but it was the truth. “Raquel, please, I love you”

The bastard. The fucking bastard. She'd been waiting for him to say it. To say those 3 words that should mean everything. They do mean everything. Everything and nothing because she can't trust anything that comes out of his mouth. 

Say it again. Say it one more time. 

He looked her straight in the eyes and lowered his voice. "Raquel I love you" 

She needed to get out of here before she actually killed him. Grabbing her bag and her keys she left, Sergio still restrained. 

There was nothing he could do, he couldn't escape, and it was quickly approaching the time when Tokyo would need help. She would have to face this on her own. 

Raquel returned a few minutes later with a lie detector. Sergio smiled, he had half expected her to come back with Suarez and a police van. 

She ripped his shirt open and both were reminded of what had happened less than 48 hours ago. Things were different now. 

The first few questions were the same. Then the difficult questions came. 

Had he chosen her because of her past, because she was vulnerable. Yes he had. 

He'd also known that leaking to the press would destroy her career. 

It hurt more than she could express. 

He hated the sadness in her eyes. Hated that he was the cause of it. 

He loved her though and she loved him. He wouldn't be here otherwise, he'd be locked up in a prison or being tortured. 

He also knew he had to disarm her. He had to regain control. He didn't want to hurt her… 

He placed her down and went to leave. He couldn't. If he left now she would definitely haul his ass to jail. Maybe if he stayed she would believe him, even if she couldn't trust him. 

She came around and 2 things were clear. She wasn't going to forgive him but she also wasn't going to kill him. He got in the car and drove. Drove as fast as he could. 

//

Watching the car drove again she cursed. Again. He'd got away. Because she let him. 

///

They were going to find out eventually and it was always going to mean the end of her involvement in the case. Possibly in the force. Fuck him. 

She stormed out of the tent and went home. She was going to catch the bastard before the police and this time she would lock him up and throw away the key. 

///

He missed her. There were a million and one things that he needed to do if they were to have any chance of pulling off this heist. Instead all he could think about was Raquel, how betrayed and broken she looked. 

/// 

She'd found him and she wasn't going to let him go. 

He knew there was a chance of this happening, if anyone could find them it was her. 

She was angry. She was going to fight. He didn't want to hurt her and he wouldn't but she knew where he was. He had to restrain her.

He'd bested her again.

She had one last idea up her sleeve, playing the helpless hostage she said she felt sick and then as soon as he was close enough she bit him and kicked him. 

Fuck that hurt. 

He had to make her understand. 

"Don't you see Raquel, it would be a lot easier without this. Even if by some miracle this goes well it won't matter not to me. I'll be fucked because I'll never see you again."

She didn't want to hear it. 

He started to explain why the only difference between him and his band of merry men and the European Central Bank is that this money wasn't going back into the pockets of the rich, honestly though she stopped listening halfway through. Seeing him like this, explaining everything in such depth was so much like Salva, in that moment she could almost forget. 

That's when the phone rang. Angel. 

He was awake and willing to speak to her. If she could get free. 

"You have to let me see Angel if not then the police will be there and you won't stand a chance." 

It was a catch 22. He was broken from his thoughts and his pacing by a stern "Sergio" 

She'd used his real name. 

He walked towards her, his heart beating rapidly I'm with you. 

Those three words meant everything. He was scared. Scared that was her just saying that to get out and escape, if it was it was what he deserved, if she meant it then then well that opened a whole world of possibilities. 

Come closer. It was almost definitely a trap but he didn't care. 

Raquel leaned forward, pressing her lips to his, pulling on the chains. She was done being scared. She was done feeling like her life was stuck on repeat. She wanted an adventure. 

He hadn't expected this, dreamed about it, but never expected it. He kissed her hard. Both of them fighting for dominance, both bringing each other closer and closer, until finally they reached their climax. 

He watched her go, and wished to every deighty that she would come back to him. 

He didn’t have time to worry about it (he did), if they had any chance of letting this go anywhere the final moments of this heist had to be successful. 

///

Angel was alive. She’d heard him on the phone but seeing him was different. She still felt responsible for him being here, but hoped that in time, he could forgive her, even if he didn’t understand her decisions. 

It was always a risk coming here, to the hospital, the police were always more than likely going to catch her. She also knew there would be some kind of incentive to get her to talk. A custody agreement. Fuckers. 

She wasn’t going to tell them anything. They always did this, threatened you with something, promised you the world for information and never gave you any of it.   
So she grit her teeth, hope her fear wasn’t obvious and sit back while the heist came to an explosive end.

She waited with bated breath as the swat team searched the hanger. A chorus of clears sounded as sweet as the morning birdsong. 

He’d done it. They’d done it. 

///

Sat on her bed she flicked through the postcards, it was crazy that she was considering this, but the last few days have been a whirlwind of crazy so what was one more completely bonkers plan. 

Palawan- on the corner was a coordinate and what looked to be part of a drawing. Turning each of the postcards over in turn she noticed it was indeed a set of coordinates and a drawing of an island. The clever bastard really had thought of everything. 

Walking through the bustling streets, a cacophony of sounds greeted her but she was focused on one thing, finding Sergio.

Her directions took her to a garden of an ancient house, towards a veranda, it looked like something out of a fairytale. Greeting her was the same picture of the postcard. She checked her phone. The battery was dying. No not now. 

She turned and saw a bar, perhaps if she was thinking she would have guessed, but she wasn’t. 

“Excuse me, do you have a charger?”

The man didn’t seem to understand. 

A tilt of a hat, a smile. “Perhaps if it is important you can use mine” 

She was overcome with emotion. He was there. He had waited for her. It was ridiculous but it was perfect. 

She’d come. She travelled halfway across the world to run away with him. He didn’t deserve her but he’d spend the rest of his life on this island making it up to her. 

The next two years were perfect. Palawan was heaven on earth. They had everything they ever needed. Each other, A home, her mother and her daughter. 

They spent days walking on the beach, Raquel trying to flirt, Sergio giving random facts about some place new he’d read about.   
They spent hours making love. 

Sergio leaned forward pressing a warm kiss on Raquel’s enticing lips. 

The kiss became more heated. Their eyes never leave each other and it’s like their looking right into their souls. Sergio leaves a trail of kisses down Raquel’s body, he pinches her nipples before placing them into his mouth, flicking them gently. Raquel wants to scream,she’s close, so close and he keeps teasing her. 

More, please more. 

She almost regrets it when he sinks further, his lips finding her clit, He sucks it on it gently and dear god she’s never been so aroused. 

“Fuck me” she pants

So he does. 

They find their rhythm among a series of gasps, pants and whimpering, attuned to each others needs. Within minutes, they find their release together.

///

The thing about fairytales is they always end at the happiest point, the moment where the villain is defeated and the heroes live happily ever after. 

Life doesn’t work like that. 

It was going to come crashing down at some point. 

She could have guessed it would be Tokyo that would be the one to crush her dream. She was too impulsive, too greedy, too self absorbed. A firework, waiting to go off. 

What she didn’t anticipate was that Sergio planned on helping her, and Rio, alone. She was never leaving his side again. 

Or him trying to hide her. 

She kissed him, it had always been, and still was his biggest weakness, before storming down to the shore. 

He didn’t want her to go, but he had to keep her safe, would never forgive himself if something happened to her.   
He realised his plan was doomed when she left him to meet Tokyo at the beach. Fuck he forgot how good she was at playing him. 

Some things still surprised her, like how he could be so authoritative as the professor, so sure of himself and the plan, but faced with two women who wanted to beat the shit out of each other and all he could offer was...tea. 

Sitting around the table, with most of the gang, Lisbon realised something, how much he’d missed this, or more specifically them. These bunch of misfits were his family, the first family he had ever truly had, and the multiple arrest warrants out for them all meant they would only ever see each other if the worst had occurred. 

This time was different. The Royal Mint Heist was tricky, but not impossible. If they all made it out of this alive, then well pigs might fly. 

They held each other tight, their hands clasped, their heads together, there was so much they wanted to say, but they couldn’t not now. They couldn’t afford any distractions now. It was about to begin. 

They turned to their positions, and tested their communications. 

“Inspector, what are you wearing”

She turned, smiling, sometimes he could be a real jerk, and a tease. 

She was nervous. She felt out of her depth. She felt like they were already behind. 

He was terrified. The plan was far from perfect. It would only take one wrong move for them to lose. He wouldn’t show it though. He couldn’t show it. 

It was just like a game of chess. He was good at chess. 

///

He should never have gone through with this. He knew the plan would fail. They could have got Rio a different way. 

He needed to get out. The tin walls of the caravan felt like they were closing in. 

///

Alyssia Sierra. Queen of bitches and Lisbon’s ex (a fact that Sergio didn’t know about yet). They were young and free and two women trying to find themselves in a man’s world, their friendship gave way to something more and they enjoyed a fun and alcohol fueled romance throughout college before differences drove them apart. 

They had suspected it would be her, but the confirmation still made their hearts drop. If she had been interrogating Rio then the only reason why they hadn’t been caught was because he genuinely didn’t know anything. She was merciless, evil, would do anything and everything to get a confession. 

//  
He would ask a stupid question- somehow are you in love didn’t seem quite as bad as what are you wearing? Maybe he was going soft. 

Yes he was definitely going soft. 

He knew he shouldn’t still be jealous of Angel, but he had a point. Raquel, Lisbon didn’t have to live this life and his biggest fear was that one day she would decide that it wasn’t worth it, and just leave without saying goodbye. 

///

It finally felt like they had made a move forward, that maybe this was possible. They ran to the beach and let themselves be free, to not care. Just for a minute. 

///

It was moments like this, laid down in silent contemplation, looking up at the clouds drifting across the sky when it felt like nothing had changed. Like that they were still living on Palawan without a care in the world. 

He was having doubts. 

“You’re turning into an egomaniac. You don’t trust the plan because it isn’t yours” 

One of the many things he loved about her was that she called him out on his bullshit. Yes it was true he was scared because it wasn’t his plan, because he wanted to, needed to get it right, not only to honour his brother but to make sure his family all came out alive. 

He also couldn’t understand why she wanted to do this. Was scared that if she did she would end up hating him, or something worse. 

Why couldn’t he understand that she wanted to do this because she loved him, because he always looked out for everyone else and she wanted to be the person that was there for him.

///

There are some people that say things just to be controversial and no matter how much you know you shouldn’t engage, that they are just trying to antagonise you, it is also impossible to just be silent. 

Palmero was one of those people, he had a lot of opinions, and not all of them went down very well. Outlining the benefits of the female orgasm was one of the best conversations they’d had. Women could go for hours, have multiple orgasms and not just seconds. Sex in the female form is conditioned around procreation, just look at history. The history that was written by men. Funny that. 

///

You lost your family. 

It was a cheap shot. But one that was guaranteed to hit directly in the heart. 

///

It was all going wrong. Tensions were fraught. Relationships strained. The pressure was getting to all of them. 

The car behind them had been following them since yesterday. 

“How do you know”

Sometimes she could be so stupid. It had the same number plate. 

She’d had enough. This heist was taking its toll on everyone but she was not being made to feel ignorant or stupid because she didn’t have the ability to memorise every single detail like him. 

He knew he crossed a line but they didn’t have time for this, they needed to trust each other and not ask silly questions. 

Things went from bad to worse, the ariel on the van hit a tree and fell in the mud. Fuck. 

It was stuck, the wheels spinning, they’d been caught, he was sure of it. Shit. 

That was too close, Far too close. 

She loved watching the transformation from Sergio to Professor. Gone was the awkwardness, the insecurities replaced by a quiet confidence.

They agreed. They actually agreed. 

Sometimes in war the smallest victories are the most important. They boost morale, they make everything seem possible, even the impossible. 

Hearing what they’d done to Rio made their stomachs churn. Ignited the fire inside of their bellies. The spark they needed. 

She couldn’t believe he wanted to use them like this. Essentially make a sex tape after being tortured for months. Maybe he wasn’t the man she thought he was. 

It wasn’t working. They weren’t working. Every relationship has its trials and tribulations, very few include a robbery and being the most wanted criminals in the world. 

He wanted to fix them. To get back to whatever their normal was, but having her here was a distraction. A distraction he couldn’t afford. 

There was no way in hell he was breaking up with her here, or whatever the fuck this hero complex thing he was trying to do was. 

She wasn’t here as his girlfriend, well not exclusively, she was here as the ex inspector. And even if she was everyone else had coupled up, they were in this fucking mess because Tokyo had thought she needed a break and only realised how much Rio meant when he got caught. So if he wasn’t going to fight then she was. 

“I got you last time” 

What was she? His prey. Maybe there was no saving them. 

“I must have been an idiot then because I thought we fell in love” 

He wanted to reach out and comfort her, tell her that yes yes they had fallen in love but something stopped him. 

She was pissed and tired and missing her family (if her family were even still alive)

“You fucked up my life. If I had stayed in Spain, what do you think would have happened. I’ll tell you- I would have ended up in jail for aiding and abetting you and your gang. I would have lost my daughter to my psycho ex and my mother would probably have been admitted to a hospital or a care home. I would be the woman who was helpless and blinded by love. Manipulated again. You think I wanted that. You think I chose that. No you did, the moment you decided not to walk away. So think what you want, say what you want, but do not blame all your fucking mistakes on me you coward.” 

Their argument was put on hold when they heard the drone. Nothing else mattered if they both ended up dead. 

They drove and drove, hoping somehow it would be enough.   
///

Since their conversation in the courtyard, he had been going over every single detail over and over again. It was endearing, but also kind of frustrating, the heist began in two days, the future after that uncertain, she wanted to make love to him, at least one more time. 

Take off those grandpa pyjamas she said loosening the tie of her dressing gown. Well fuck. He’d rehearsed the plan enough. 

She found it hot when talked nerdy, and was intrigued to see just what it would take before he lost concentration completely. Plus the plan needed to work under pressure. 

He looked straight ahead, if he looked at her it would be over in seconds, god she looked sexy, he felt his breath hitch as she ripped off his shirt. 

He went through the plan step by step, trying to ignore the way her mouth felt as it enveloped his member. 

He lost it when she sunk down on him, fuck, still she insisted he keep going, good lord he was going to kill her for this. 

She probably should be listening but she stopped after step one, focusing on much more enjoyable things. 

///

Their argument forgotten, only one thing mattered now, surviving the next few hours. 

“Raquel, be careful” she nodded

“Stay alive or I’ll kill you” 

The next few minutes were frantic. She realised half way up the tree she was never going to make it to the top. Not in the time she had. She had to find somewhere else. There was a barn, it was risky, the first place they’d look, but she had no other choice. 

Improvise. He hated that word. 

///

They would be there in three hours. 

How are you?   
It was such an empty question but saying anything else seemed inappropriate. 

How was she. Honestly she didn’t know. Scared. Pissed. Covered in chicken shit. 

He would have laughed but instead he was overwhelmed with regret. 

“I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry Raquel. I don't know how to do this, how to admit this, I just want you to know that I have cherished every moment you shared with me. Cooking on that filthy ship, the smell of rotten fish and sewage making us gag, swimming fully clothed in the sea, letting the waves envelop us. I want you to know that I love you.” 

“You could have told me at least once” 

He could have, He should have. He didn’t. 

They wanted to offer each other forever, but instead they were offering each other a goodbye. This could only end one way. 

She’d been caught. They weren’t going to let her escape. The risk was too much. Time had run out.

She was going to die. 

He ran and ran,he would rather die than lose her. 

She wasn’t dead. 

But he had heard her die. No one was going to look for her. 

She was dead. He’d killed her. She couldn’t be dead. He was going to propose to her, had the ring in the ambulance ready for when this god damn heist was over. 

He was going to propose to her and marry her and they would spend the rest of their lives together. 

Now she was dead. 

She had to let him know he was alive. Waiting until the police were distracted she grabbed a small stone, and on it drew the outline of palawan, their safe haven. Hoping somehow, some way he would see it and know that she was alive. 

He had to wait hours, until the bulk of the police left the area- they needed to sleep at some point, and made his way to the barn, it was a risk, but nothing mattered anymore.   
He sunk to the ground, the weight of everything overwhelming him.

That’s when he noticed two things. 

A bullet, a bullet with no blood. Suarez wouldn’t have missed.   
A scuff on the barn floor, getting closer realised it was a drawing- to anyone else it would have looked like nothing, to him it was a sign- Palawan.The police had played his own game- they had created a distraction. She was alive. For now. 

He didn’t care what the cost was he was going to save her. One more mission. 

She was starving, her body covered in battered and bruises, but nothing could take the smile off her face. He was going to come for her. 

Her capture, arrest and imprisonment had been plastered over every media outlet. Accusations made of her. Countries requesting extradition. This time the cops were playing by the rules, and extraditing to countries where even if torture wasn’t legal, their prisons were not much better. The only issue was that neither was their security, a remote jail in chile, that’s where she was. Almost impossible to get to, high up in the Andes, even if someone got out they would die trying to escape. 

The professor had a plan, he always had a plan, this time it didn’t involve a heist, or a robbery, just as the police had changed tactics so had he. He would play by the rules, well kind of. There were still many people on their side, many people who saw the treatment of lisbon as unfair, a violation of human rights. Social Media is a powerful tool, more powerful than any machine gun. If you can get people to feel a shared sense of injustice then eventually something has to give. In this case it was a visit by an independent human rights group. A group of people fighting for human rights, largely behind a screen, where your whole life can be created in seconds. This time there was no show, no theatrics, he was just going to walk right in there. Anyone would deem the institution unfit for anyone and it would have to be shut down with the whole of twitter watching an alternative was impossible, and when that was declared it was only a matter of weeks before arrangements were made and they would be back on their way to Palawan. 

She couldn’t believe it when she saw him. She’d heard the rumours, that there was human rights group visiting and hoped that it would be something to do with him but didn’t allow herself to believe it until she saw him.  
3 weeks later they stood at the edge of the beach, looking out on the sunset, he knelt on one knee. 

“Raquel, I have made many mistakes in my life, but the worst was not telling you that I loved you early enough. Thinking you had died, it was unbearable, and now that we’re both here I need to tell you again, I love you. I have loved you since you set foot in the Hanoi. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so will you do me the greatest honour and agree to be my wife.” 

She wanted to say so much but only one word mattered. “Yes”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it. Comments and Kudos make me happy.


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